Page 79 of Game Change

“And have you noticed Ice Princess has been smiling a lot lately? I bet it has to do with that ten-thousand-dollar Cartier necklace around her neck. I even heard her laugh the other day, and I asked her if she ran over a puppy on her way to work since I've never heard her laugh before.” I roll my eyes. Brynne laughs all the time. She just mostly scowls when Heath’s around. “And she had the nerve to scowl.” He shakes his head. “Anyway, don’t forget Friday is the potluck. I arranged it.”

“I don’t do potlucks, Heath. Too many people with cats in this office.”

He leaves, but a moment later, he returns with Uncle Milton. He closes the door behind him and then hugs our uncle. Uncle Milton waves to me and the three of us hug in the office.

“Okay, enough of that,” he says as he pushes us away. “Men in my generation don’t hug, but I’m trying to change. Now, Heath, get me a coffee while I catch up with Paddy Cake.”

“Uncle Paddy Cake’s been doing a great job, but if you can get him to fire the witch and the Ice Princess, that would be great. I think it’s time someone gifts her with another broom.” Heath leaves without any more explanation, and I don’t bother telling Uncle Milton about his rivalry with Ernestine and his frosty relationship with Brynne.

We spend the next half hour talking business and catching up on the office. We discuss projects we’ve completed since I started, new projects we’ve taken on, and which architects are handling which projects.

“I’m pleased,” he says. “Brynne would have done a good job, but I felt this comfort leaving things in your hand while I was sick. And don’t get too comfortable. I’m kicking cancer’s ass.” He takes off his glasses and puts down his iPad.

Soon after, he leaves my office to meet with the employees.

As any Kincaid would do, we arrive in the conference room ten minutes before the meeting. Heath comes in on our heels, wheeling a cart with coffee and paper cups.

“Is Brynne okay?” Uncle Milton whispers to me.

“Didn’t you see her?” I ask.

Last night, when I tried to bring up Uncle Milton’s visit, Brynne didn’t respond. She nodded and commented on a television show.

“I did, and she was distant.” I raise an eyebrow and wait for him to say more. “Did you do something to piss her off? I told you not to make her mad.”

“Are you serious?” I ask my uncle, who gives me a blank stare. “You promised her a job and gave it to me. If she’s pissed off, it’s at you, not at me.”

His head rolls back as if my words surprise him, but I’m not shocked that he didn’t make the connection. The man’s been married and divorced four times. That doesn’t just happen by chance. The men in my family are book smart but lack self-awareness, and even though Uncle Milton has always been the most stable and levelheaded adult male figure in my life, he’s not immune to being oblivious.

“Me?” he asks as if the idea is absurd. “You think she’s still mad about that?”

“I guarantee it.” But I'll be fine if she’s mad at him, not me.

“And she would usually be here by now. I trained her to think and act like a Kincaid. She’s always early to meetings.” I don’t tell him that she thinks his meetings are pointless and that she would cease most of them if she were in charge.

“Well, you can’t train her like a Kincaid and treat her like she’s not.” He opens his mouth to respond, but people trickle in, so he shuts it. I stare at the door and wonder if Brynne will bother coming to this meeting, but she walks in and stands in the back right before we start.

She looks at me, and I wink at her. She winks back, and even from here, I can see her blush. She’s sexy in a black pantsuit and a royal blue shirt. Her hair is curly today, and I can’t wait to pull it later.

“Brynne,” Uncle Milton says once the meeting is over. She has her back turned, ready to leave, but she pauses and slowly turns around. There’s no smile on her face for my uncle, only detached professionalism. “I’d like you to join me and Paddy Cake for lunch.”

“Can you not call me that in the office?” I ask, giving him the side-eye.

“I think I’ll let you two go and have lunch. I’m on a tight deadline, and I have an appointment.” She looks at her nonexistent watch again and says, “Have a nice lunch.” She walks out before Milton can utter a word. I’m sure she’s lying about the appointment because she didn’t mention it last night.

“I don’t like that,” Milton says. “She’s not even wearing a watch and never once passed up on lunch with me.”

“Well, Uncle Milton, you stabbed her in the back.”

“If you had agreed to come work with me years ago, this wouldn’t have happened,” he says.

“If you were honest with her—”

“I was. I didn’t think there was a chance in hell you’d give up that nice San Diego weather to come back to this frozen wasteland. This mess is on you.”

I stare into his eyes and wait for him to get a clue, but he stares back at me. “Me? You can’t be serious.Thisis all on you, Uncle Milton.”

“Oh, hogwash.” He waves his hand in dismissal before tapping my shoulder and telling me to follow him, but instead of returning to his office or the elevator, he leads me to Brynne’s office. When we get there, she’s shrugging into her coat.

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